CVE-2020-28969
📋 TL;DR
Aplioxio PDF ShapingUp 5.0.0.139 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability that allows attackers to cause denial of service (DoS) by opening a specially crafted PDF file. This affects users who process untrusted PDF files with this specific software version. The vulnerability can crash the application, disrupting PDF processing operations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Aplioxio PDF ShapingUp
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete application crash leading to denial of service, potentially disrupting business processes that rely on PDF processing with this software.
Likely Case
Application crash when processing malicious PDF files, requiring restart of the software and potential data loss in unsaved work.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if software is isolated or used only with trusted PDF sources, with crashes contained to the application instance.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious PDF file. No public exploit code was found in the provided references.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown - check with vendor for updated version
Vendor Advisory: https://www.vulnerability-lab.com/get_content.php?id=2260
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact Aplioxio vendor for updated version. 2. Uninstall version 5.0.0.139. 3. Install latest patched version. 4. Restart system if required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict PDF Sources
allOnly allow PDF processing from trusted sources and block untrusted PDF files
Application Sandboxing
windowsRun PDF ShapingUp in isolated environment to contain crashes
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Replace with alternative PDF processing software
- Implement strict file validation and only process PDFs from trusted sources
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check software version in Help > About or program properties. If version is exactly 5.0.0.139, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check program properties or registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Aplioxio\PDF ShapingUpVerify Fix Applied:
Verify installed version is different from 5.0.0.139. Test with known safe PDF files to ensure functionality.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crash logs
- Unexpected termination events
- Error messages related to buffer overflow
Network Indicators:
- Unusual PDF file downloads followed by application crashes
SIEM Query:
EventID=1000 OR EventID=1001 AND ProcessName="PDFShapingUp.exe" AND Version="5.0.0.139"